Hezbollah condemns U.S.-made film of Prophet Mohammad

September 12, 2012|Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah condemned a U.S.-made film about the Prophet Mohammad on Wednesday, which triggered violent protests in Libya and Egypt, as an attack on religious belief which it said reflected Western policy.

In a statement which made no reference to the killing of U.S. diplomats in Libya in apparent response to the film, Hezbollah said the film was an "immoral act which represents the highest degree of aggression against the highest human right ... for respect of beliefs and sanctities".

The film aimed to stir tensions and hatred between Muslims and Copts in Egypt and reflected "the true position of the American-Zionist alliance towards Islam and Muslims", it said.

"In this context, the statements of official U.S. condemnation no longer fool anyone," Hezbollah said, referring to official U.S. criticism of the film.

Protesters in Egypt tore down an American flag and burned it during a demonstration on Tuesday against the film. In the Libyan city of Benghazi gunmen attacked and burned the U.S. consulate, killing one consular official.

The U.S. ambassador and embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack on their car as they were rushed from the consular building, a Libyan official said.

U.S. pastor Terry Jones, who inflamed Muslim anger in 2010 with plans to burn the Koran, said he had promoted the film "Innocence of Muslims", which U.S. media said was produced by an Israeli-American property developer. Clips of another film called "Mohammad, Prophet of Muslims", circulated for weeks before the protest.

That film portrayed Mohammad as a fool, a philanderer and a religious fake. In one clip posted on YouTube Mohammad was shown in a sexual act with a woman.

Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet offensive and any depiction of him can cause outbursts of anger in the Islamic world and among Muslims in Europe.

Hezbollah's statement, which comes two days before Pope Benedict is due to visit Lebanon, also called for Christians and Muslims at the highest level to address the issue.